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Are you having trouble finding the right diet for you? Imagine that you are not alone in having this experience. With the multitude of diet programs and slimming diets on offer, it’s not really easy to make a wise choice.
However, other people before you have faced this problem and ended up doing well. Their secret? the ketogenic diet you diet Keto.
In this post, I explain why this diet is right for you. I will insist on the strong points without neglecting to specify the disadvantages.
Principle of the ketogenic diet
The principle of this diet is to lose weight by eating fat. Eh yes ! Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. It is the excess of calories absorbed compared to calories expended (physical activity, lifestyle) that makes you fat. Of all the foods, starches (carbohydrates) and sugars make you fat the most because they disrupt your metabolism and appetite.
That said, it is up to nutrition specialists to re-specify the right reflexes to have in terms of food to bring down the obesity rate, which unfortunately still remains very high in the world.
Globally, the number of cases of obesity has almost tripled since 1975, according to a report from the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2016, more than 1,9 billion adults – people 18 and older – were overweight. Of this total, more than 650 million were obese (2).
The Keto diet is totally in line with this dynamic of weight loss. Indeed, it prescribes a diet low in carbohydrates and proteins, compensated however by a higher intake of lipids. Fat then becomes the main source of energy for the body. To learn more about this diet, it’s here.
Concretely, the person following a ketogenic diet should consume less than 50 g / day of cereal products (pasta, breads, various cereals, etc.), legumes, fruits as well as any product that contains added sugar such as pastries. and cookies. Starchy foods are also prohibited.
In other words, this diet is made up of 70 to 90% fat and 5 to 15% carbohydrate – almost the reverse proportions compared to a conventional diet (25 to 35% fat and 45 to 55% of carbohydrates).
What are the advantages ?
Initially developed for the benefit of children with epilepsy in order to reduce their seizure, the ketogenic diet is practiced today by many people around the world.
This state of affairs is explained by its many advantages: weight loss, improvement in sports performance, strengthening of memory, improvement of general health, etc.
Weight Loss
Decreased appetite and weight loss, this is undoubtedly what crystallizes the most attention in relation to this diet. At first glance, it may seem paradoxical to lose weight by consuming more fat usually associated with being overweight.
But low-carb diets are much more effective than low-fat diets for losing pounds. Studies show that by consuming 300 more calories per day, a low-carb diet leads to 18% faster weight loss than a low-fat diet.
This is information that can easily be justified. Indeed, due to the principle of 75/10 (75% of lipids and only 10% of carbohydrates), the body undergoes a severe restriction in carbohydrates, which pushes it to draw on the reserves of fat.
When they are used up, the body produces small energy molecules (ketone bodies) which then spread very quickly in the blood. Within two to four weeks, this causes a reaction called a “state of ketosis” which is characterized by decreased appetite. This feeling of fullness leads to consuming fewer calories.
Improved physical performance
Carbohydrates have always been presented as the athlete’s fuel. But, according to some nutritionists, it is necessary to provide some clarification.
While the carbohydrates that make glycogen are needed for muscle contraction, other nutrients are just as important. Thus, by a considerable intake of fat, the keto diet not only burns fat, but also boosts the metabolism.
Anticonvulsant properties and more?
A diet rich in carbohydrates and added sugars combined with a sedentary lifestyle is the recipe for visceral obesity and fatty liver, two conditions found in around 75% of patients with type 2 diabetes (5). Does the ketogenic, low-carbohydrate diet have any therapeutic effects? Would it cure diabetes and other liver-related ailments?
To this response, dieticians, nutritionists and other health professionals express reservations. Although, due to its anticonvulsant properties, the ketogenic diet was prescribed for patients with epilepsy, more caution should be exercised with regard to other disorders.
To date, this diet is proposed to fight against type 2 diabetes and is even used experimentally in cases of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and certain cancers. Cardiovascular ailments are not in this list since the keto diet would significantly reduce symptoms.
Moreover, the practice of such a diet is an excellent way to detoxify yourself from sugar. This ultimately reduces insulin levels and inflammation in the body.
What are the disadvantages ?
Like any restrictive diet, the keto diet has side effects. As you can well imagine, a more or less prolonged absence of carbohydrates is likely to cause an imbalance in the body.
Thus, apart from the fact that it is a difficult diet to follow, the many cases of disorders that have been reported show significant health damage:
- hypoglycemia
- risk of nausea and vomiting
- difficulties related to intestinal transit (constipation, heaviness in the stomach, etc.)
- head pain
- kidney stones
- muscle cramps
- physical and mental fatigue
- hot flashes
- regaining lost pounds
- halitosis
- fiber deficiencies, antioxidants
- etc.
All in all, the ketogenic diet can have very beneficial effects for your body when you involve a specialist. He can give you long-term advice on the type of fat to consume and possibly prescribe food supplements that may make up for the lack of carbohydrates.
In addition, any change in diet requires time to adapt. To enjoy all the benefits of this diet, knowing the nutritional composition of foods is essential. To help you, the ANSES Ciqual table is an excellent tool. But, there are also many smartphone applications to measure your intake.